Daredevil: The Rise and Fall of Jim
' Daredevil: The Rise and Fall of Jim '''is the sixth story arc of Parker Lot, written by BuddyComics. The second of BuddyComics' four planned stories for each season and main character, this story focuses on Jim only. In the story, Jim becomes inspired by stunt television shows and tries to make it as a daredevil himself. The story was planned as early as 2010 and references daredevil Evel Knievel, MTV, and many other shows or movies. This is also the second of four seasonal stories to revolve around each of the four main characters, as Robby's Rival was released earlier. This story began on August 14, 2011 and ended on November 8, 2011. Plot Jim, at home, watches a television show called "Redneck Stunts" on MTV and gets highly inspired by the stunts shown by some of the crew. Jim takes his ideas to the roof of his house where he gets the attention of the whole neighborhood. He announces he will ride off the roof on his skateboard, much to Scooter's concern. When asked by Matt if the stunt is safe, Jim denies he is in any danger. Ironically, he accidentally rides off the roof on his skateboard when he wasn't ready and goes to the hospital in an ambulance. At the hospital, Dr. Russo informs Jim that he suffered many injuries: a fractured spine, broken arms and legs, and a shattered pelvis, upsetting Jim. Despite these very serious injuries and Scooter's request, Jim decides to continue being a daredevil after his near-death experience made him feel alive for the first time. Scooter then exaggerates the situation by telling Robby that he'll deliver the eulogy at Jim's likely funeral and that Robby could be a pallbearer. Later, Jim recovers and makes himself a new costume, which he credits to going to sewing classes, now ready to make a comeback. Jim then decides what stunt he'll attempt next. After much thought, he settles on riding off of Mount Dayon, the highest point of elevation in the city. Shortly after this decision, Bob Bitterman breaks the news by announcing Jim's feat, but the story's presence was only because it was a very slow news day in the city and the country. Jim sketches his stunt in the art class after school until he is stopped by Principal Fredericks, who warns him of the dangers of doing the stunt. Principal Fredericks dates back to 1972, when Fredericks was a daredevil quite like Jim. After losing control on the skateboard, he crashed into a campfire and the shock changed his life. The big day comes with Bob Bitterman and Linda Taylor doing commentary at the stunt, with Taylor reminding the audience of Principal Fredericks' accident. Linda Taylor hopes that this doesn't put much pressure on Jim, but it does. Realizing the error of his ways, Jim apologizes to the crowd emotionally but not before he falls off the peak. Some time later, Jim's in the hospital once again, only this time his injuries are more serious. Dr. Russo advises Matt, Scooter, and Robby to be careful as the damage has caused Jim shock. Jim lost his body in the accident but he's not too depressed. He gets on planes for free, is good decoration, and can be a school play prop. Characters *Matt Parker *Jim *Scooter Williams *Robby the Robot *Principal Fredericks *Dr. Russo *Bob Bitterman (first appearance) *Linda Taylor (first appearance) Production "Daredevil: The Rise and Fall of Jim" was planned out in 2010, along with other comics that are subject to be produced as story arcs. The story is the second of four planned comics to be released within the four seasons and to feature one of the four main characters. "Robby's Rival" was made for Robby in the Spring, "Daredevil: The Rise and Fall of Jim" features Jim in the Summer, "Campaign in the Neck" stars Scooter in Fall, and Matt is set to have a Christmas story in Winter. The story was written by BuddyComics and began on August 14, 2011. Trivia *This is the first story to revolve only on Jim, as Jim and Robby's Excellent Adventure revolved on both Jim and Robby. This marks the second of four seasonal story arcs to revolve on all four of the main characters. *This is the first and perhaps only time Principal Fredericks is shown smiling. *This marks the first appearance of Dayon's Channel 6 news anchors Bob Bitterman and Linda Taylor. *This story has ran the longest from August 2011 to November 2011, due to school for BuddyComics. This story alone put Parker Lot on a long hiatus that put few comics online throughout those four months. Cultural references *"Redneck Stunts" is a parody of the violent shows MTV has made in past years like ''Beavis and Butt-head. *Jim's costume strongly resembles Evel Knievel's famous red, white, and blue outfit. *The title of this episode references the Frat Pack films in the 2000s like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. *This comic was also inspired by The Simpsons episode, "Bart the Daredevil". *The redneck on "Redneck Stunts" has a soda-bottle jetpack like Jimmy Neutron ''and the design of his character and personality is a reference to the Squidbillies'' character, Rusty Cuyler. *Jim's first stunt was inspired by the South Park episode "Cartman's Incredible Gift". *Jim has a poster of Bart Simpson is his room in one scene. *Mount Dayon is partially based off of Half-Dome at Yosemite National Park. *The sign at Mount Dayon is a reference to Looney Tunes. Reception The story received generally positive reviews, mostly for its writing and humor. The comic strips of the story arc had a fair amount of pageviews as well. The highest viewed page was the first page, which got 74 views, a very high amount compared to most of Parker Lot's comics. The popularity has spawned interest for more story arcs. External links *http://buddycomics.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d45pos8